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Closing Email Security Services Account

This Article Applies to:

  • Avast Business CloudCare

IMPORTANT: ESS and ShadowProtect have been officially retired. If you have not yet moved away from these services, please do so immediately to avoid encountering any disruption once they are completely turned off. For more information on CloudCare services discontinuation, see CloudCare Services EoL.

Any data export requests made on or before the ESS discontinuation date (February 28, 2023) will be fulfilled. Any requests sent after this date, however, cannot be guaranteed.

Reverting MX Records

To move away from the filtering service, the administrator must change the MX records for the domain(s). The partner/customer is responsible for maintaining their MX records with their DNS registrar, and they will need to revert the settings back (e.g. using their existing delivery destination defined in Enterprise Properties). Unfortunately, Avast Business Support cannot help you perform this configuration. However, you can ask your DNS registrar/provider for assistance.

MX records can be verified at https://mxtoolbox.com. If the records still contain mx1.avgcloud.net and mx2.avgcloud.net, there is likely still some configuration left to perform (taking into account the time it can take for the settings to propagate). If you are using the Encryption service, you must also remove the created subdomain (zixvpm.their-domain.com) as well as the created MX records.

Reverting Exchange/Mail Host/Server Settings

Smart Host

If you have configured your mail server/host to send email through Avast outbound send connector/smart host, you must revert these settings by removing the outbound.avgcloud.net smart host and going back to the default/required settings for the outbound delivery.

Access Restriction/IP Address Restrictions

On-premise mail servers have some configuration to only receive mail from Avast IP addresses. This must be reverted/changed by removing the following ranges:

  • 100.42.120.96/27 (255.255.255.224)
  • 100.42.115.0/27 (255.255.255.224)
  • 208.70.208.0/22 (255.255.252.0)

The new host/service IP address range(s) should be entered here, as opening up to all IP addresses will allow potential misuse.

AD Sync Agent

If you are using the AD Sync agent to synchronize user accounts to the portal, uninstall it from your operating system.

Reverting SPF Records

The administrator must remove the Avast IP address ranges from their SPF record, reverting back to their required settings:

  • v=spf1 ip4:100.42.120.96/27 ip4:100.42.115.0/27 ip4:208.70.208.0/22 ~all

You can then verify the removal at https://mxtoolbox.com/spf.aspx.

Exporting Data

Any data export requests made on or before the ESS discontinuation date (February 28, 2023) will be fulfilled. Any requests sent after this date, however, cannot be guaranteed.

You can export certain data from your account. The supported exports are:

  • Allow/Block list: You will need to contact Avast Business Support and include the customer domain(s) where the export is required
  • Archive export: You will need to contact Avast Business Support to arrange the export with our provider (for archives exceeding 500 GB, you will need to mail a HDD to the provider)
  • Reports: Recent SMTP reports (going back two weeks) can be requested. You can contact the Avast Business Support team to discuss this option
  • Users: You can export the user list directly from All Users > Export users:

Deactivating Services

Within All Users, there will be a quick visibility of the services activated in the Mode, Archive, and Encryption columns.

If there is a shield in the Mode column, it means the Anti-Spam security is activated. A tick in the Archive or Encryption column will mean the service is activated.

When all Anti-Spam, Archive, and Encryption services are disabled, all columns should be empty except Mode, which should show OFF.

If any service is still activated here, even with the MX records being changed/reverted, you will be billed.

Anti-Spam

  1. Go to All Users > Update Users
  2. Uncheck the Activate Security box under Account Security and select Change this property across to the right side
  3. Click Update

Archiving

  1. From All Users, select all users by ticking all the checkboxes
  2. Choose Terminate Archiving from the drop-down menu
  3. Select Confirm or Apply to all mailboxes
  4. Confirm the dialog (you will be warned around which users the change will apply)

Afterward, deactivate the Archiving service by going to Solutions > Archiving > Settings and setting the service status to Inactive, then save your changes.

Encryption

  1. From All Users, select all users by ticking all the checkboxes
  2. Choose Terminate Encryption from the drop-down menu
  3. Select Confirm or Apply to all mailboxes
  4. Confirm the dialog (you will be warned around which users the change will apply)

Afterward, deactivate the Encryption service by going to Solutions > Encryption > Settings and setting the service status to Inactive, then submit your changes.

Deleting Users

  1. From All Users, select all/specific users by ticking the checkboxes
  2. Choose Delete Users from the drop-down menu
  3. Select Confirm or Apply to all mailboxes
  4. Confirm the dialog (you will be warned around which users the change will apply)

When deleting users, pay attention to the Enterprise Properties setting of Messages to Unknown User Addresses. If this is set to Deny delivery, and the users are deleted, they could miss emails due to the rejection. To avoid this, select the Deliver to the MTA option instead.

Account Deletion

Once ready, the account can be deleted through selecting Enterprise or Enterprise Properties.

Once you click Delete, you will need to provide the reason before confirming the deletion.

You cannot delete the account while the MX records are still pointing to Avast, as this would cause a mail flow failure. Outbound mail flow would also be affected if the smart host/outbound send connector is still used while the account is deleted.